Commando is an American underwear company based in

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the ...

. Founder Kerry O'Brien pioneered "raw cut" undergarments with no seams, elastic or trim on the edges. Commando is reportedly more present at red carpet events such as the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and

New York Fashion Week New York Fashion Week (NYFW), held in February and September of each year, is a semi-annual series of events in Manhattan typically spanning 7–9 days when international fashion collections are shown to buyers, the press, and the general publ ...

than any other underwear brand. The undergarments appear at over 30 New York Fashion Week shows per season.

History

Kerry O'Brien, former senior vice president for

Weber Shandwick Weber Shandwick is a marketing communications firm formed in 2001 by merging the Weber Group, Shandwick International and BSMG. The company is part of global agency network Interpublic Group (IPG), as part of the parent company's IPG DXTRA opera ...

, initially founded the company in 2003 when she launched ''Takeouts'', a line of removable bra inserts packaged in Chinese-food type containers. In 2005, O'Brien introduced her line of "raw cut" undergarments called ''Commando,'' named after the phrase "

going commando Undergarments, underclothing, or underwear are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer garments from being soiled o ...

." After the line's launch, it received attention from fashion designers around the country and the company was later renamed Commando. Initially, O'Brien sold her line to retailers door to door. In the first year of operations, more than 500 stores sold Commando and the company reached $1 million in sales. O'Brien designs undergarments that do not show under clothing and are made without elastic. Her elastic-free waistband and weighted slip are patented. Commando undergarments led to O'Brien's nomination to serve on the

Council of Fashion Designers of America The Council of Fashion Designers of America, Inc. (CFDA), founded in 1962 by publicist Eleanor Lambert, and headquartered in Manhattan, is a not-for-profit trade association comprising a membership of over 450 American fashion and accessory ...

Overview

Commando products are made with

microfiber Microfiber (or microfibre) is synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers. A strand of silk is about one denier and about a fifth of the diameter of a human hair. The most common t ...

, seamless, and are raw cut. They are sold online as well as in 1,200 department stores including

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Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, a ...

and

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; colloquially Saks) is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street shopping district of Washing ...

. Commando is considered to have a wide celebrity following and has been worn by public figures such as

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, Jennifer Lopez,

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and

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. Fashion stylists and fashion labels that use the brand include

Brad Goreski Brad Goreski (born August 15, 1977) is a Canadian-American celebrity fashion stylist and television personality. In 2015, he joined ''Fashion Police'' as a new co-host. Since 2021, he has been one of the regular judges on ''Canada's Drag Race''. ...

Prabal Gurung Prabal Gurung ( ne, प्रवल गुरुङ) (born 1979) is a Singapore–born Nepalese–American fashion designer based in New York City. Early life and education Gurung was born on March 31, 1979, in Singapore to Nepali parents and ...

Lela Rose Lela Rose (born in Texas) is an American fashion designer. Lela grew up in Dallas, Texas. She attended the University of Colorado where she was a painting and sculpture major and graduated in 1991. She had a business in college making vests from ...

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Tracy Reese Tracy Reese (born February 12, 1964) is an American fashion designer who specializes in women's ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, and home fashions such as linens. She is a board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America, having ...

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and

Nicole Miller Nicole Miller is an American fashion designer and businesswoman. Miller attended the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in Apparel Design. She studied for a year at L'Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture ParisienneBal ...

References

External links

*{{URL, http://www.wearcommando.com Companies based in Vermont American companies established in 2003 2003 establishments in Vermont Clothing companies established in 2003 Clothing companies of the United States